Air conditioning device



'Dec. 1, 1942.v a, s. DAUPHINEE AIR CONDITIONING DEVICE Filed April 13, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 III ATTORNEYS Dec. 1, 19 2- G. s. DAUPHINEE 2,303,332

' AIR CONDITIONING DEVICE- Filed April 13, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 UCIDDDDDDDCIDEIEI CIDUDDEIDCIDDDUD nnnnnuunnunn UDDDDDDUDDCIDU (o a on -INVENTOR George J. wup/mee.

ATTOR NEYS Patented Dec. 1, 1942 UNITED. STATES- PATENT OFFICE em. CONDITIONING DEVICE George S, Dauphinee, BrooklymN. Y., assignmto W. B. Connor Engineering Corp., New York,

Application April 13, 1939, Serial No. 267.651

3 Claims.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved means for exposing a large surface area of purifying medium, such as granular activated carbon in the return air stream before it reenters the room or enclosure. In pursuance of is so arranged as to be easily applied to existing air ducts without necessitating extensive or expensive alterations therein.

Another object is the provision of a conditioner unit which may be readily positioned in the air duct and which will not substantially impede the flow of air therethrough, will cause the air flow to be uniformly distributed over the cross-section of the duct, andwhich will effectually purify a definite and predetermined portion of the air stream and permit a definite portion thereof to pass through unpurified.

A still further object is to provide an air conditioning device in which the extent of the gas adsorbing surface exposed to the air stream may be readily varied and controlled to satisfy different conditions in the air stream. In further pursuance of this object, the conditioning device preferably comprises a plurality of elongated bars of gas adsorber material arranged in one or more rows, and arrangements are made for changing the spacing between the bars of a row and/or varying the number of rows of the material exposed.

- A cognate object of the invention is the provision of a novel form 'of gas adsorber cell which is designed to retain a mass of activated carbon granules or other desired gas adsorber material in the form of an elongated, thin bar or rod of circular,,hexagonal, triangular or other desired cross-section. In further pursuance of this ob ject, each of such cells is preferably designed in such manner that upon their being assembled in alignment, and in contact with one another, they provide a plurality of equally spaced bars of the gas adsorber material which effectively form a I grille.

Another object is to provide a unit comprising a grille of gas adsorber bars and an ornamental grating which is adapted for ready attachment to the inlet end of a return air duct or air conditioning cabinet or to the air outlet of an air conditioning cabinet. In case it is also desired to filter the air passing throughthe unit, it may be designed to support the filter material such as finely woven cloth. 1

The development of practical means for utiliz ing the gas adsorbing principle for purifying the return air in air conditioning systems is relatively new as compared with the art of air conv ditionmg. Hence, an extensive field for such air purifying devices lies intheir application to existing air conditioning or ventilating systems.

' this object, the supporting means for the carbon Built-in systems of this type are compact and-are designed to occupy as little space as possible. Experience has shown that, in the majority of cases, it is quite difllcult to find sufllclent space for the addition of present day air purifying devices with-'- out making expensive alterations.

The necessity for air purifying means of the type herein described exists in varying degrees wherever air is reused. Due to peculiarities of the conditions within the building or other enclosure, this necessity may be great in some cases and exist to a lesser degree in others. This degree of necessity is a measure of the justified e15- penditure to correct the undesired condition. Accordingly, the design of air purifying devices should admit r flexibility in conformity with the need. If granules of purifying material are employed, for their most efficient utilization they should be suspended in an air duct wherein the stream has sufiicient velocity to permeate them, thus' making available the numerous gas and vapor adsorbing surfaces of their numerous canals and capillary spaces. The present invention makes available the interior and exterior surfaces of the granules foreflicient contact with the moving air stream in a practical and efllcient manner.

With respect tothe control of odor arising from the occupancy of the room or other enclosure, a satisfactory purification of the air is eflected, if the concentration of odorous gases is maintained below a tolerable low level termed the threshold," that is, their complete removal has been found to the unnecessary- It, therefore, is only necessary to establish a balancebetween odor generation and adsorption at apoint at or below the threshold, or in other words, to provide a balanced ratio between the available adsorbing surface and the maximum rate-of emission calculated as probable. For a better understanding of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of an air conditioning unit embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the unit of Fig. 1 taken on the section line 2-2;

' Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the unit, the upper bar of the frame being broken away;

Figs. 4-and 5 are sectionalwviews of conditioning units similar to the unit of Fig. 3 but having respectively two and three rows of cells;

Fig. 615 aview partly in section showing two. units like the units-of Figure 3 mounted in a return air duct; I

Fig. '7 is, a view partly in elevation and partly insection of an adsorber cell as utilized in '1" ures to 6 and 17 to 20, and embodying the invent on;

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the cell shown in Fig. 9 is a-transverse sectional view of Q the 'cell of Fig. 7 taken on the line 9- of Fig. 7, looking in' the direction of the arrows;

Figs. 10 to 16 are transverse sectional views of cells of the type shown in Fig. 7 but havingthe cell-walls formed in the different shapes shown;

Fig. 17 is a viewpartly in elevation and partly in section showing the unit of Fig. 3 incorporated in an air conditioning cabinet;

Fig. 18 is a view, partly in section, showingan embodiment of the invention including a grating confined witha grille of gas adsorber cells like that of Fig.4, and applied to the inlet oi a return air duct;

Fig. 19 isa view. partly in section, of a portion of the device of Fig. 18 taken on the line l9-I! of Fig. 18', looking inthe direction of the arrows;

and,

Fig. 20 is a view, partly in section-of an, em- 1 bodiment of the'invention incorporating an'air filter and a gas adsorber grille like that of Fig.4,

applied to the inlet of a return air duct'.; 1

- Referring first to Figs. 1 to'3 ana'ir (condition:v ing grille is shown which comprisesaJsupportin'g frame F for a plurality of gas adsorbericells. 0.

Frame F preferably comprises upper lower- ;metallic channel bars 'I, 2 which, are connected :at theirend's by the channel bars I. 4; Each cell Chas an end closure cap 5 whose peripheral surface 6 loosely engages the opposite legs or'fla'nges ,1 of the bars i and 2- thereby retaining :tl'le sev reference is made to Figs.- '7 to 9 where each cell is shown as comprising an elongated hollow cylineral cells C" in alignment and parallel with'each other within the frame F. For the purpose of introducing thecells C into frame F, openings I, 9 are provided in corresponding flanges 'l of the bars I and 2, theseopenings being closed after the insertion of the cells by cover plates II, I i which may be secured in place by screws 12. For a more detailed description of the 'cells C drical shell i3 whose wall is perforated. overits entire length as indicated by u. Each'cell filled by activated carbon granules or other adsorbing material which effectively adsorbs'od'or 6 ous gases arising from the respiration and emanations of the occupants of the room or other enclosure. If the air stream contains a large liach cap 5 which closes the end of shell ll pref- 7 erably comprises a central disc portion 1! and parallel inner and outer short cylindrical flanges l1, I! which are connected as shown by a radially extending web l9. When a series of such cells are assembled in a suitable frame F, as indicated in Figs. 1 to 3, the bars ll form a grille of gas adsorbing material which extends over thecross sectional area of any air duct within which the frame F and its cells may be positioned. Each rod I8 is preferably designed to be of small sectional area and in the case of cylindrical rods, each is preferably made of a diameter less than one inch, in a specific example, a diameter of inch is found suitable. When using a grille comprised of such rods of small sectional area in a duct in which the air velocity is as high as 400 to 500 feet per minute, an efilcient action of the granules is obtained without producing a large resistance to the air flow. Should it be desired to cause a larger proportion of the air stream tofipass through the adsorbent material, the cells C for use in a given frame F may easily be replaced by cells having flanges it of the same diameter and cylindrical shells ll of larger diameter, thereby forming a grille in which the individual rods I! are of larger diameter and in which the spacing between adJacentjro'ds is decreased.

Fig. 4 shows a two row assembly .of cells mounted in staggered relation in a frame F similar to the frame F of Fig. 3 and-having the end channel members I, 4'. arrangement having three rows of cells. In each of, the latter arrangements, the cells of one row employed instead. Fig. 10 shows a cell C'having :a-hexago'nal cross-section, Fig. 11 one having opf .posed parallel walls 20, 2| connected bycurved 46,

-'ing a semi-circular section and Fig. 16 one having a star-shaped section. Any of the sections illustrated may be used in the grille arrangements shown in Fig. l, 4 or 5.

Fig. 6 shows the application of the invention to a straight section of an air duct D'in which the air flows at a relatively high velocity in the direction indicated by the arrow. Two grilles 23 and N composed of the cells C are arranged transversely of the duct in a V formation thereby providing a large effective exposed area of the adsorber material. Such an arrangement makes it possible to provide an extent of gas adsorbing surface to give satisfactory purification of the air without seriously obstructing the air flow and without alterations in the size of the duct.

Figure 17 shows an embodiment of the inventionas applied to a unit air conditioner U comprising an air inlet grating 25, air conditioning or cooling coils 2i and an air outlet grating 21. As

shown, the grille II of adsorber rods i5 is supported at its opposite ends directly under the grating 21 by the brackets 20, 30 which in turn are secured to the top closure panel II of' the ,conditioner. Such conditioners are highly standardized equipment and in quite extensive use for conditioning the air within a small enclosure, such as one or two rooms. Such unit condition- Fig. 5 shows a similar.

ers recirculate the room air to a very large extent and the need of a suitable device to maininvention as applied to the end of a return air duct D. A metallic casing 32 is provided to en-- gage th inner walls of duct D and a fiat plate 33 engages the inwardly turned end wall 34 of casing 32 for the purpose of securing the casing 32 in position, the plate 33 being secured to a suitable frame member 35 of the building structure by any suitable securing means 35. A second casing 31 is mounted within casing 32 andterminates in an inwardly turned flange 38. An air intake grating or grille 35 is mounted between the flanges 34 and 38, the openings 40 in which serve to admit th returned air to the adsorber grilles 28', 28". The individual cells C and C" of the grilles 28', 28" are retained in position by the flange 38 and an inwardly turned flange 4| of an angle member 42, the cellsC' of grille 28 being staggered with respect to the cells C" of grille 28".

The arrangement shown in Figs. 18 and 19 provides a large purifying surface of adsorber material quite uniformly distributed over the. cross sectional area of the air stream. A definite portion of the stream will readily permeate the porous rods of the first grille 28' and a definite portion will pass between the rods. Due to the staggered spacing of the second grille 28", this last mentioned portion will, to a considerable extent, permeate the rod of the second grille.

This arrangement may be easily mounted across the air stream without expensive alterationayet the original flow can be maintained with only a slight increase in resistance or back pressure which can easily be provided for. It is also to be noted that selection can be made of 1, 2, 3 or more rows of cells suitable to balance the odor generation within the enclosure and if in time, this should change, addition or subtraction of cells can readily be made. The individual cells of this arrangement are relatively inexpensive, may be highly standardized in construction, and are readily available as adsorbing units that can easily be applied across air streams.

Figure 20 shows an embodiment of the invention in which a standard air filter section is provided with a frame 43 adapted to engage the innor walls of the air duct D", spaced apart wires 44 being carried by. frame 43 and a filter cloth 45 preferably formed of textile material woven with a fine mesh is looped over the wires 44 to be supported thereon as shown. A channel shaped frame 46 serves to space the filter section from the adsorber grilles 28' and 23", an angle member 42' mounted within duct D" serving to retain the individualcells of the grilles in proper position. The cells of grille 28" are staggered with respect to those of grille 28' as above described with reference to. Figs. 18 and 19 and in addition to all the advantages above pointed out in connection with the arrangement shown in said figures, the incorporation of the filter section secures the additional advantage of removing particles of dirt and dust from the air circulated, thus preventing the surface and pores of the granular adsorbent material from being coated over and filled up with foreign matter and thereby decreasing the adsorbing action of the material. a

I have described what I believe to be the best embodiments of my invention. I do not wish, however, to be confined to the embodiments shown, but what I desire to cover by Letters Pat ent is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An air conditioning device comprising, in combination, an air duct defining a general direction of air flow substantially axially of the duct, and a gas adsorbing unit disposed in the duct to extend transversely thereof, said unit comprising a frame having opposed, facing, channel members, and a series of air permeable, gas adsorbing rods, each having a thickness of not more than one inch and each comprising a highly pervious tubular casing and a filling of granular adsorbing material in the casing providing intergranular, air-flow spaces of substantial uniformity, and spacing members extending outward beyond the lateral bounds of the rod at opposite ends of the rod, said rods being mounted in parallel, mutually supporting relation, with their ends conflnedin the channel members, and with the spacing members of corresponding ends of adjacent rods in contact with one another.

2. An air conditioning device as set foiti in claim 1 in which the gas adsorbing unit comprises a plurality of rows of the gas adsorbing rods, the rods of each row being disposed in mutually supporting relation to rods of an adjacent row as well as to adjacent rods of the same row, and the rods of adjacent rows being disposed in staggered relation.

3. A gas adsorbing unit adapted for mounting in an air duct that defines a general direction of air flow, and to be disposed transversely. of the direction of said air fiow, said unit'comprising a frame having opposed, facing, channel members,

.material in the casing providing intergranular.

air-flow spaces of substantial uniformity, and spacing members extending outward beyond the lateral bounds of the rod at opposite ends of the rod, said rods being mounted in parallel, mu-

tually supporting relation, with their ends confined in the channel members, and with the spacing members of corresponding ends of adjacent rods in contact with one another.

GEORGE s. naurnmna. 

